Arts

The puffy taco with beef from Rays Drive-In in San Antonio is a standout for Sutter, but the year has just begun.

This Food Critic Will Take The Taco. Again. And Again. And Again.

10:40am January 13, 2017

by NPR Staff

Mike Sutter is eating at a different San Antonio taqueria every day of 2017 for his "365 Days of Tacos" project. And he's discovering a lot about the city's culture in the process.

Queue Listen Now

Computer scientist Avi Rubin speaking at TEDxMidAtlantic.

What Happens When Hackers Hijack Our Smart Devices?

9:48am January 13, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

Computer scientist Avi Rubin says all our smart devices — cars, phones, even fitness trackers — can be hacked. He warns that our network of connected technology puts us at risk for cyberattacks.

Queue Listen Now

Are there ways to make traffic better in our cities?

Can We Improve Our Transportation Network Using...Biology?

9:29am January 13, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

Wanis Kabbaj wants traffic to flow smoothly and efficiently, like the blood in our veins. He says driverless cars may be the solution to today's highway gridlock.

Queue Listen Now

Trees can't talk — or can they? Ecologist Suzanne Simard says tree communicate with each other in a unique way.

How Do Trees Collaborate?

8:46am January 13, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

Ecologist Suzanne Simard shares how she discovered that trees use underground fungi networks to communicate and share resources, uprooting the idea that nature constantly competes for survival.

Queue Listen Now

Anthropologist Robin Dunbar says our social networks are limited to about 150 connections.

Science
Arts

Is There A Limit To How Many Friends We Can Have?

8:46am January 13, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

Anthropologist Robin Dunbar believes the evolutionary structure of social networks limits us to 150 meaningful relationships at a time — even with the rise of social media.

Queue Listen Now

Katherine G Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) as Katherine G. Johnson and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) in Hidden Figures.

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Hidden Figures' And 'One Day At A Time'

7:00am January 13, 2017

by Linda Holmes

This week, the women of NASA and the women of a Netflix reboot both get lots of attention, and we close the show with what's making us happy this week.

Publisher Simon & Schuster drew strong criticism after signing conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos — seen here holding a press conference about the Pulse nightclub shootings.

Books
Arts

Free Speech Advocates, Publishers Wrestle With Questions Of Censorship

6:22pm January 12, 2017

by Lynn Neary

Simon and Schuster's book deal with controversial Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos drew strong criticism online, and sparked a debate on publishing's role in limiting the availability of ideas.

Queue Listen Now

Claire (Betsy Brandt) and son Connor (Zev Haworth) search for closure in Claire in Motion.

Arts

'Claire In Motion,' Movie In Stasis

5:00pm January 12, 2017

by Mark Jenkins

Betsy Brandt plays a woman whose husband goes missing in this underwritten, willfully ambiguous film from writer-directors Lisa Robinson and Annie J. Howell.

Mark Wahlberg in Peter Berg's Patriots Day.

Arts

'Patriots Day': A Painful, Painstaking Depiction Of The Boston Marathon Bombing

5:00pm January 12, 2017

by Chris Klimek

The third collaboration between director Peter Berg and actor Mark Wahlberg offers a detail-rich and nuanced examination of the 2013 bombing and its chaotic aftermath.

Emily (Gemma Aterton) and Max (Idris Elba) in 100 Streets.

Arts

'100 Streets' Tells Familiar Stories That Cross Race, Class And Generational Lines

5:00pm January 12, 2017

by Ella Taylor

Idris Elba stars in a London-set ensemble drama our critic calls "soapy, rote stuff," but it's representative of the new generation of filmmakers taking Britain's multiracial society as their subject.